Good Grief Charlie Brown! Project Linus President Embezzles $400k from Charity

The former President of Project Linus, a nonprofit that provides handmade blankets for children who are seriously ill, has been sentenced to prison for wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and tax evasion as a result of stealing more than $400,000 from the organization.

Carol Babbitt was the organization’s national president from 2000 to 2016, and in 2010 began using company credit cards to pay for personal expenses including clothing, furniture, electronics, pet grooming, tickets for sporting events and personal travel. She covered her tracks by falsely classifying the expenditures in the organization’s books. In addition she failed to report the stolen funds on her tax returns.

Babbitt was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay Project Linus $410,210 in restitution and $7,586 to the Illinois department of revenue.